Waking up Sunday morning, it's easy to scapegoat Dijon Lee for his part in Alabama's 20-17 loss to Georgia.
His late penalty will be remembered as the nail in the coffin, especially with the Crimson Tide needing one more stop to give its offense a chance to complete the comeback. Lee has to own that moment. But putting the loss on a sophomore cornerback alone would ignore a bigger truth Alabama has to address: its secondary hasn't lived up to the preseason expectations that made it one of the team's biggest perceived strengths.
Georgia's offense exposed those issues all throughout the night as Gunner Stockton accurately completed 18 of his 22 passes for 249 yards, averaging 11.3 yards per attempt and connecting on 81.8% of his throws. The Bulldogs also converted seven of 13 third-down opportunities, keeping drives alive and making it difficult for Alabama's defense to get off the field.
The performance was another reminder of a problem that has followed Alabama through six games. The Tide has allowed 1,419 passing yards, nine touchdowns, and 34 completions of at least 15 yards. Opposing quarterbacks have also completed 60.6% of their passes against Alabama, which now ranks 105th nationally in yards per pass attempt.
Alabama’s secondary has struggled to meet preseason expectations
For a secondary that entered the season with expectations of being among the best in college football, those numbers are difficult to ignore.
That's why the spotlight must extend beyond Lee to defensive coordinator Kane Wommack and defensive backs coach Maurice Linguist. Lee's penalty was costly, but it does not explain the broader struggles the secondary is having.
Wommack and Linguist must find answers quickly, with Tennessee, Texas A&M, LSU, and Vanderbilt up next. After Saturday's loss, Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer made it clear that how the team responds will define its character against a stretch of explosive offenses.
“The season doesn’t slow up for us, and we’ll find out the character of our football team,” DeBoer said. “There are just some execution errors, or just us being a step slow, or just short of getting the football. That’s the difference in the game.”
The next four games will reveal whether the Crimson Tide's secondary can finally match the expectations that followed it into the season. The way the unit responds will determine whether Wommack and Linguist can correct its defensive weaknesses before it costs the Tide another game.
Add us as a preferred source on Google